


Of Spiders and Fuzzy Blankets

by Atkka



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Conditioning, Human Experimentation, Hurt Peter, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kid Peter Parker, Manipulation, Peter Parker Acts Like a Spider, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter raised by Hydra, Sort Of, Superfamily (Marvel), eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-07 11:26:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12231879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atkka/pseuds/Atkka
Summary: Peter doesn’t know much.Scratch that; Peter knows plenty of things.He knows his name (Peter), his age (nine), how to fight, every inch of his little cell and the testing room, and that the Avengers are totally evil.Oh yeah, and to always Hail Hydra.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic on AO3; I have been debating whether or not to post something for a while, and decided, oh, what the hell (probably means the formatting is gonna be shit since I have no clue what I'm doing).
> 
> I used to write a lot, but I got lazy, and so now I pretty much only read fanfic.
> 
> However, I started this as a pet project one day because decided that there are not enough Hydra stories with Peter. AKA, this is completely self-indulgent.
> 
> Adding to the fact that things will be different since this is an AU, my canon knowledge is all over the place and gathered from various sources, so things might be a bit OOC or out of place, but please bear with me- for plot purposes!
> 
> Also, one last message: please let me know if I should change or add any tags or warnings. 
> 
> Thanks!

Peter doesn’t know much.  
Scratch that; Peter knows plenty of things.  
He knows his name (Peter), his age (nine), how to fight, every inch of his little cell and the testing room, and that the Avengers are totally evil.

Oh yeah, and to always Hail Hydra.

What he doesn’t know is what the sky looks like - or the stars. He doesn’t know what a car is, and he’s never seen anyone dressed in anything other than a lab coat or a variation of the Hydra costume.

Yet, Peter has never lamented over this lack of knowledge, simply because he was ignorant to the fact there was any he was lacking to begin with. He knew what he was meant to do- the Commander had told him that he was to contribute his share to bettering the world by being a test subject for a new super soldier serum, and by training to someday take down the Avengers. He does all this in an underground bunker of the organization Hydra, the place he’s called home for as long as he could remember.

That is, until now.

Peter had been recovering in his room after another round of blood taking by the silent scientists he had long since given up trying to converse with. As he laid on his cot, he counted all the minuscule cracks etched into the ceiling of his barren white room. There were quite a lot. As he neared 173, a shrill alarm sounded through the air. Bolting up into a seated position, the young boy moaned in pain and covered his ears and closed his eyes. Along with super sensitive hearing, the near silence Peter lives in every day makes this development a cruel shock. The boy doesn’t worry about what caused the alarm. He had been told by the Commander that in an emergency such as this, to stay in his room and wait for a soldier to escort him out, and that if under any circumstance, an Avenger was to find him, to resist and run to the nearest Hydra personnel he could find.

When the footsteps approached, it only added to the cacophony echoing throughout the boy’s mind, and he didn’t bother seeing who it was, too busy balled up in his cocoon of agony. He barely noticed when the scratchy surface of his cot was replaced with a smooth and warm material. He barely noticed when he was whisked away from the only place he had ever called home. 

________________________________________

Only when the shrill screech had faded into nothing, did Peter relax. Exhausted from the earlier blood withdrawal and the recent stress caused by the alarms, the boy passed out. 

________________________________________

Peter awoke to a slight humming. After a few moments, he recovered his bearings enough to glance up. When he did, his heart almost stuttered to a stop. He was not in his room- he wasn’t even in a part of the underground bunker he knew anymore. He found himself enveloped in soft material, a blanket. For a second, he thought he might have been in the Commander’s bunk, he had been told that if he was really good, he'd finally get to go there, and the Commander was the only one he could think of that would give him such a nice gift. While entranced in rubbing himself against the sweet fluffiness of the blanket’s material, he noticed the murmuring of voices in urgent tones not very far away. Now that child had recovered, it did not take very much effort with his enhanced hearing to make out what they were saying. He could tell immediately that neither of the voices belonged to the Commander. 

“…he’s just a child, Tony!”

“Goddammit, I know that, Steve!” Peter heard a tired sigh followed by the mutterings of angry words he had been on the receiving end of countless times when he couldn’t get something right in training. 

“I just…why was he there?”

“We both know why.”

The conversation seemed to end there when Peter decided to make a move. He tried to silently sit up to better observe his surroundings, but he got caught in his blanket and fell to the floor with an “umph.”

So much for super reflexes.

“He’s awake.”

Two sets of eyes immediately landed on him, and Peter scrambled back in terror. He knew who those eyes belonged to. He had seen many pictures of them, and each one was associated with “danger.”

They were Avengers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow!  
> This was really well received, so I guess I'll continue.
> 
> For the time being, I don't really have a posting schedule, and I have a few chapters written out already...we'll see what happens. Idk how long the chapters will be either.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Steve Rogers had had a terrible day.

First, his morning run had been interrupted by a call from Nick Fury about a mission. This mission just so happened to be about checking out the location for a potential Hydra base. Don’t get him wrong- Steve loved bashing in the heads of the corrupt organization. What he didn’t like, was what a Hydra base usually meant. When Fury had explained that this location was potentially the main branch facilitating the newest program to recreate the super soldier serum that had resulted in Steve becoming Captain America, he instantly knew that there were going to be victims.

However, that knowledge didn’t prepare him for what he found.

Along with Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Black Widow, and Dr. Banner waiting in the helicarrier incase the Hulk was needed, Steve stormed the underground compound. 

Hydra had been caught completely unaware, and scrambled to escape. Natasha headed with Clint to the data room, hoping to recover some information on the secret project before it was erased by the Hydra emergency protocols, while Tony caught stragglers that had managed to escape outside. Steve himself, systematically made his way through the winding hallways and knocked out as many enemies he could so that they could later be picked up by S.H.I.E.L.D. reinforcements. He was surprised to find that most of the prison cells were empty, and was about to give the team the all clear when he heard some soft whimpering up ahead.

Instantly picking up speed, Steve raced towards the sound. As he reached the last prison cell, what he found broke his heart and filled him with a deep anger at the same time. Curled in a tight ball, was a small child dressed in nothing but a hospital gown, who couldn’t be older than seven. Under closer examination, Steve determined the child to be a boy. Slowly approaching, the Captain reached out for the kid’s shoulder, who barely reacted. Frowning, he lifted the child up - who instantly latched himself on to the Cap. A small static sound in his ear brought Steve back into the present moment, and it was soon followed by a voice.

“We’ve secured all the data we could. The system was wiped halfway through.” Nat.

“Yup. And S.H.I.E.L.D.’s ETA is less than five minutes.” Barton.

“I’ll have JARVIS go through it when we get back. I’m pretty much wrapped up here too. How’s it going on your end, Capsicle?” Tony.

Instantly putting on his, as Tony likes to call it, ’Serious Captain Voice,’ Steve replied, “All hostiles have been taken out. I’ve found one prisoner.” His voice cracked at the last part.

He could almost hear Tony frown. “Steve?”

The man sighed, and simply replied, “You’ll see.”

________________________________________

That was over two hours ago.

Now, the team, minus Thor whom was in Asgard for official family business, was back in the quinjet, on their way home to the Avenger’s Tower in New York. Barton had managed to once again get shot in the shoulder, and was simultaneously being patched up by Bruce in the small medbay and scolded (laughed at) by Natasha. 

That left Tony and Steve watching the small child they just rescued sleep on a chair. Steve had managed to find a blanket to wrap the boy in, and was discussing with Tony whether JARVIS had found anything about the boy’s identity yet, when he heard a small thud on the floor.

“He’s awake.”

Steve’s eyes whipped towards the boy, and immediately started forward only to stop when said boy scrambled back in fear. Steve exchanged a worried glance with Tony before crouching down low to the floor.

“Hey there, son. How are you feeling?”

The boy continued to stare up at Steve in fear.

“I’m Steve, and this is Tony,” he gestured up to his friend, “what’s your name?”

Still no answer.

“We were hoping that if we could have your name, we could bring you home.”

At that, the boy visibly bristled, and his eyes instantly shifted to contain an icy and determined look. Steve almost missed when he spoke, “You took me from my home.”

Steve frowned (he seemed to be doing that a lot today), and tried to come up with a response to those words. Tony beat him to it.

“What do you mean? We just saved you from those crooks. We’re the Avengers- the good guys.”

Steve winced at Tony’s insensitive tone, and glanced back down at the boy for his reaction. The boy only became more closed off, and spat, “You are the crooks! The Avengers are nothing but villains! Send me back!”

The boy then proceeded to disentangle himself from the blanket and charge at Steve. The man held out his arms, confident in his abilities to apprehend the boy, so it came as a big shock when the kid bowled right into him and knocked him to the ground. He quickly recovered, however, and prepared this time, managed to wrap himself around the boy and keep him still.

Tony stared in shock before blurting, “I don’t know whether I should be terrified or impressed that this kid could knock over a grown super soldier.”

Steve ignored the comment in favor of wrangling the apparently super strong boy in his arms, and grunted out, “Tony.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll shut up now, and let you do…whatever it is you’re doing. I’m gonna go search through the files with JARVIS. Call me if you need to contact a monkey wrangler.”

________________________________________

It took approximately an hour for Peter to run out of steam. After using all his might to try to pry the Avenger off of him, he was eventually reduced to weakly slamming his fists against his captor’s chest (which was still pretty strong). Once “Steve” had deemed Peter too weak to try to escape, he set the boy down. In retaliation, Peter took back the insanely comfortable blanket and wrapped it around himself. He then resolved himself to glare holes into the man.

“You’re pretty strong, son.”

“My name’s not son.” Peter muttered out grumpily.

“What was that?”

“My name’s Peter, not son!” The boy knew it was probably a bad idea to reveal his name to the enemy, but he was not happy that anyone other than the Commander was calling him that.

“Okay, Peter. I’m sorry.” the man gave him a small smile as a way of showing he intended no harm. Peter unknowingly relaxed a bit, not used to being on the receiving end of such a gaze. “Could you tell me how old you are?”

“Nine,” the boy sulked.

Peter narrowed his eyes a bit at the look of surprise in Steve’s face, followed by a flash of anger, before being replaced once again with that easy smile. 

“Could you tell me your last name?”

“Dunno. I wanna go home.”

“We want to get you home too, Peter. Do you know the names of any of your family? Do you know where you live?”

“You know where I live. You took me from there. And you aren’t going to help me, you’re a bad guy!”

Steve frowned a bit, but continued in his soft voice. “Why do you say that, Peter?”

Peter rolled his eyes like it should be obvious. “Because you’re an Avenger, duh. Captain America?”

Peter deemed it fit to stop talking after that little bit of information, warning bells at being so nonchalant in front of an Avenger ringing in his head. It went against everything he had been told. Despite all this, the boy found his eyes drooping once again, not having been in such mentally strenuous circumstances for a long time. His last thought before he drifted off into oblivion was, I’m sure that the Commander will find me.

________________________________________

Steve sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. It was times such as these that made him feel as if he were his real age of over 80 years old. As he watched Peter tremble in his sleep, he gave the boy a small kiss on the head. The boy melted under the touch, and reassured that Peter was not going to go anywhere, the super soldier headed off to find Tony.

Steve found Tony in a nearby room, completely immersed in whatever he was doing on his Starkpad. The man didn’t notice Steve’s presence until he spoke, causing an amusing little squeak to escape the billionaire's throat. “Got anything?”

Tony glared at Steve’s slight smile, before looking away in defeat. “I overheard your conversation with the kid, and did some research.”

Steve merely raised an eyebrow as a gesture for Tony to continue.

“First, I looked through missing person’s reports for children named ‘Peter’ around age nine. I got a match for one ‘Peter Parker,’ who went missing eight years ago after the Aunt and Uncle he was staying with were found shot dead in their small suburban home in Queens, New York.”

Steve eyed Tony confusedly. “What about his parents? Why wasn’t he staying with them?”

That’s when the inventor got a strange gleam in his eye, one that Steve saw him get when he found a mystery he was determined to solve. “That’s the strange part. Get this; less than a month and a half before, Peter’s parents dropped him off on the father’s brother’s doorstep. His father? Richard Parker.”

Steve frowned, not sure what that had to do with anything. “Who?”

Tony rolled his eyes, “Richard Parker. Leading scientist on cross species genetics in Oscorp? The Oscorp that is not only inferior to Stark Industries, but has been rumored to have been in cahoots with Hydra before?” Tony paused a minute as he scrolled some more on his Starkpad, before continuing, “Anyways, Peter’s parents, Richard and Mary Parker, ditched Oscorp and the kid before hightailing it out of there. For some reason, they were on the run, and erased all their research. They died in a plane crash. News called it an accident, but S.H.I.E.L.D.’s database thinks it had more to do with our slithery little friends.”

“Tony! You hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“What? You know I’ve done it lots of times before.”

Steve sighed, and rubbed his eyes once again. “Fine. What about the kid? If S.H.I.E.L.D. knew the Parker’s were affiliated with Hydra, then why is this the first we’re hearing about it?”

“That’s the thing. It’s really secret info. Like, top of the top under wraps. Peter had been labeled missing in public’s eye, but most people assume he's dead by now, and Fury didn’t do anything to dispel that assumption- in fact, he seemed to encourage it.”

Steve paused, seemingly in thought, before adding, “Do you think this has anything to do with why the kid could knock me over?"

“Why do you think he would be in Hydra, Steve? We’ll know more information soon."

As Steve tried to process this information, and what it meant about Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. as a whole, JARVIS cut through his musings.

“Sir. Estimated time of arrival is ten minutes.”

“Alright, JARVIS, thanks for the heads up.” Tony replied casually.

“And may I mention, Sir, that Miss Pepper Potts has tried to call you several times within the last three hours. She is now waiting for you, and seems quite upset.”

With that, the billionaire jumped up in alarm, and groaned. “Shit. I had a meeting today. Pepper’ll kill me! JARVIS? Order a bouquet of flowers and an extra large box of assorted chocolates to be delivered in time for my arrival.”

“Very good Sir, and should I prepare the ‘apology’ playlist?”

“JARVIS, you’re a lifesaver.”

“Just doing my job, Sir.”

________________________________________

It turns out that Pepper did not kill Tony, though she did do the next worse thing.

Tony had to listen to a full blown lecture from the fiery redhead (which is a lot worse than it sounds), and then was dragged off to complete piles of paperwork he had been neglecting. Steve exited the quinjet with a sigh, the lump that was Peter Parker a alarmingly light burden in his arms. He was planning to drop the boy off to be checked out by one of the team's doctors to see the extent of the damage Hydra caused. The super soldier knew that afterwards, he was going to have to call an Avengers team meeting about their guest, and he was dreading introducing the kid to Bucky. 

Even though Bucky had long since severed any control Hydra had on him, he was long from completing the road of recovery. Steve opted for his best friend to remain at the tower during the raid, afraid the familiar sights of the facility would add to the ex-assassin's already constant nightmares. He had no idea how the man would react to the sight of a child who was probably a replacement for himself, if judging by Peter’s strength.

As Steve thought out several different methods of avoiding the confrontation with Bucky, he knew he was instantly screwed when he entered the tower infirmary to see Bucky waiting by a vacant hospital bed, arms folded. He looked to be about to simultaneously scold Steve for running off on a potentially dangerous mission without him and fuss over the man, searching for wounds, until he saw the bundle the Steve carried. His look of annoyance swiftly melted into that of concern.

“Steve? What’s that?”

Said man was about to concoct a lame excuse when the elephant in the room itself decided to wake up and make its presence known. Peter’s head slowly rose from within his fluffy cocoon, and the boy rubbed his eyes and yawned. This action seemed to make the impossibly young looking boy looking even younger. Steve knew that the cat was out of the bag, and opened his mouth to speak when Bucky let out a strangled, “Peter?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation time!
> 
> If I haven't said before, I began this fic as more of a self-indulgent piece, so I am not going to leave too many questions about the past unanswered.
> 
> This marks the end of what I had already written out, so idk how updates will look, I guess.
> 
> Also, please excuse my blatant ignorance of consistent tenses. It's an ongoing battle of mine.
> 
> Enjoy!

“ _Peter?_ ”

The said boy who was shaking off the last of sleep stiffened at the use of his name, and cocked his head. The voice was vaguely familiar, and something he remembers associating with home. The boy then took in his surroundings, finding himself in the enemy’s grasp. He let out an almost inhuman hiss before jumping from his warm prison, and clung to the ceiling above. He narrowed his eyes and took in the view below. This was _definitely_ not home.

“Peter!”

That voice again. The boy searched for the source of it, vaguely curious, but mostly worried it was a ploy by the enemy to trick him into letting his guard down. However, Peter could not sense any danger, and when his eyes finally located the speaker, his suspicion vanished in favor of stark surprise.

“Bucky?”

Peter dropped down and landed in a crouch, uncaring that in nothing but a hospital gown, he essentially just flashed the two super soldiers in the room. He stayed low to the ground in a crawl, and slowly inched towards the speaker - Bucky. 

“Bucky? Is that you? Why are you here? The Commander said I wouldn’t see you anymore- did the Avengers take _you_ too?” the last part was spat out, and an accusatory glare was sent towards the very confused Captain America.

“Woah, slow down there Punk. You hurt anywhere?”

“No, but answer my questions! Where _were_ y-“ Peter was rudely cut off mid sentence by the Captain.

“Uh. I think I’m missing something here. Bucky?”

At Steve's use of the name, Peter placed himself in front of Bucky in a defensive position, and seemed to visibly bristle.

“Hey kid, calm down. Stevie’s not gonna hurt you.” Bucky placed his still intact arm on the boy’s shoulder, resulting in said boy to relax even if he still kept the wary look on his face.

“Buck?” Steve.

Peter watched as the man in question sighed, seeming to prepare himself.

“I honestly thought I’d never see you again, Peter. I actually wasn’t so sure if you were real or just a figure my mind made up resembling Steve before the serum to cope.” The man gave the boy an equally awed and saddened look before focusing his gaze on the Captain. “Peter and I met at one of the Hydra facilities. It was one of my more… lucid moments. I had recently broke free of control, and was being conditioned again. Peter,” he nodded his head at the boy, “was kept in a cell across from mine. Reminded me a lot of you, Stevie, all skin and bones, but smart and fiery. Now, I was seriously pissed that a kid was in that pit, but I was under so many drugs, I could barely tell my lefts from rights. The kid was interested in me, though, wouldn’t leave me be to wallow in self pity, so we uh, eventually hit it off. Until I was dragged off for programming. That was the last I saw of him.”

Peter zoned out of the speech in favor of poking at Bucky’s face as he spoke to guarantee he was real.

However, as the voices droned on, the boy soon realized that the two super soldiers in front of him were not going to let up in their catching up any time soon. Even with Bucky's presence, Peter became increasingly more nervous in the unfamiliar environment that just so happened to be the headquarters of his worst enemies, and having run out of the small amount of patience that came with being a nine year old child, he hissed lowly to the familiar man,  
"Bucky! We have to get out of here _now_!" before pulling on his arm frantically.

However, the man did not budge, and instead halted in his conversation with Captain America to crouch down and look Peter in the eyes. "It's alright, kid. You're safe here."

The boy's eyes widened and his breath hitched, and he began pulling even more frantically, casting panicked looks at the Avenger behind him. 

"Bucky? Why would you say that? It's the _Avengers_! Did something happen? D-did they mess with your head?" Peter dropped down to a stuttered whisper at the last part, fearful and not comprehending how the man he was addressing could be so at ease in territory that had been drilled into their heads as _bad_ for years. 

In the past, Peter had often overheard scientists discuss research during testing, and from bits and pieces of conversation, he learned that minds could be warped and twisted to fit a mold of someone else's choosing. Unsettled at the thought of such a thing, Peter had questioned the Commander about it the next time he came to visit. The boy was reassured that only villains such as the Avengers would partake in such vile acts.

Thus, Peter came to the only possible conclusion; the Avengers had perverted his friend's mind.

Peter continued after a small gulp, "I-I'm sure the Commander can make it all better, we just have to get out of here and find him, 'kay?"

Bucky took a deep and tortured breath, before plastering a sad smile on his face and ruffling Peter's hair. "I'm alright, Pete. My mind is, for the first time in a long while, completely my own."

Peter's wide brown doe eyes started to shine the slightest bit, the boy realizing his one ally wasn't going to help him, and frustrated with his own incapability. "I don't understand."

"That's just fine, kid. We can take it slow. I know this is scary, and you were told that the Avengers are the enemy, but I promise they will not, and cannot, hurt you. You can trust me, yeah?"

Peter bit his lip, and searched Bucky's face for anything, but only saw a strange softness that made his stomach slightly twinge with warmth. Against his better judgement, Peter relented to his first and only friend, and gave the smallest of nods.

Bucky rewarded the boy with a great big smile, and Peter almost felt it was worth it, just to see happiness on the older man's face.

_______________________________________________

Soon after the unexpected reunion, Peter was led to one of the many vacant white beds in the room he was located. Even though his usual doctors and guards dressed in a horrendous green were not around, by the familiarity of the room, the boy could tell what was going to happen next. As lab coats, white as everything else in the room, came into view, the boy instinctively tensed. Even after years of testing, while Peter had gotten used to incessant poking and prodding and its accompanying pain, he still found the whole ordeal uncomfortable at best. 

_______________________________________________

_When Peter was younger, he dreaded the frequent visits, and eventually, one day worked up the courage to resist. The boy stuck himself to the ceiling of his small cell, and refused to budge no nagged what. The attempts by his guards to get him down caused the numerous cracks he had often counted for entertainment. Eventually, a scientist came in carrying a large needle. Peter instantly tried to escape via crawling across the ceiling, but the guards, whom had previously been trying to get the small child down, were now pinning him in place, and all Peter processed was a painful twinge in the side of his neck before everything faded away._

_When the boy woke up later, unsurprisingly chained to a testing bed, the Commander himself came to speak to the him. Peter can't quite recall what was said that day, but he does know, that after that, he stopped resisting his handlers and surrendered himself for the good of Hydra._

_______________________________________________

Steve watched as Bucky coaxed Peter into settling on one of the numerous beds, and started conversing with the boy. Peter seemed to only be half listening, nodding vacantly from time to time as he stared off into space. However, as soon as Bucky laid a tentative hand on the boy's shoulder, he shot to attention, eyes wild and panicked like a cornered animal. As soon as Peter saw who it was, he calmed down, but remained wary of the situation. 

Steve followed Peter's line of vision, narrowed in distrust, to the various doctors entering and exiting the room. The super soldier didn't want the boy to bolt, so he began to speak in hopes of easing his worries. "So, Peter, you're probably wondering how Bucky and I know each other, huh?"

The boy in question whipped his head around, and was now staring at _Steve_ in distrust. Steve vaguely wondered if the boy suffered whiplash from the erratic movement, but such sentiments were superseded by his overall relief that the boy was no longer trying to bore holes through the doctors with his eyes.

"Oh, right!" Bucky grabbed Steve by the shoulders and gave both him and Peter a goofy grin. "Stevie and I have been friends since childhood. Back then, I was _always_ gettin' him out of trouble, since he always picked fights he wasn't gonna win."

"They were _bullies_!"

"And you were a tiny, muscleless pipsqueak who fell severely ill over the smallest cold." 

Steve began to whine in denial as Bucky began to tell stories about the troubles his smaller friend would get into. He heard a small intake of breath, and recalled that the two weren't alone. 

A glance at Peter revealed the young boy staring at the two wide wide eyes, in almost wonder and awe. Steve immediately sobered up; no child should be confused by playful banter between friends; even if the sight of such an act between two grown super soldiers is ridiculous at best. He was about to mention something about this, but was interrupted when a doctor behind them cleared her throat.

"Sorry to interrupt. I'm Dr. Helen Cho. Mr. Stark asked me to take a look at you, Peter." 

The boy in question perked up at the sound of his name, and turned to see a Korean woman smiling kindly at him. However, Peter seemed content to not volunteer any greetings, and continued to sit there, attention solely on the woman, almost like a predator scouting out its prey. 

Yet, Dr. Cho, amazing as she was, remained completely unfazed and continued on. "Alright, all I'm going to need is some tissue sample, and to give you a general examination. Is it alright if I take some blood, Peter?"

The boy seemed conflicted, and pursed his lips before looking at Bucky. As said man gave an encouraging nod, Peter turned back to the woman and gave a small nod of his own.

Dr. Cho pulled out some equipment, including a needle for blood taking. While Bucky continued to ramble to the nonchalant patient, Steve watched in astonishment as the boy didn't even flinch as the tip pierced his skin, and remained stolid for the rest of the examination. However, despite the blank stare Peter donned, Steve could still see an underlying tension throughout his stature, one that threatened to flee at the first sight of danger; a stature of one who did not know trust, of one who had to fend for his or her self in order to survive.

The super soldier was broken out of his musings by the doctor's kind voice, and the clang of her setting down some high tech handheld X-ray device, and realized the bulk of it was over. "Well, Peter's vitals and reflexes are in great shape, if not above average. The boy also carries no signs of harm, except for some scarring."

"What about malnutrition; he's so _small_!" Bucky inquired.

"And the scarring?" Steve followed up.

"Well, without further analysis on his DNA, I cannot be sure, but Peter may have inherited a small stature, or his metabolism might be efficient to a point it is difficult to gain weight, or a mix of both." Dr. Cho pauses, almost hesitating, and cast a glance at Bucky before continuing. "While the scarring is mostly minimal, though I doubt because of lack of injury or great medical care, there are definitely signs of both experimentation, as well as some battle related injuries."

Steve felt his friend tense beside him, and followed up instead, "battle related?"

"Yes. He has healed tissue and bones from strenuous activities, as well as some from what seems to be a combination of blunt force, blades, and gunshots."

Steve felt a crick in his jaw, and snapped it back before nodding. His eyes were dangerously cold, and he had a faraway look, almost as if imagining a meeting between him and Peter's last assailants.

He once again shakes off his musings, accompanied by Bucky this time, as an uncomfortable shifting came from the bed beside him. Immediately his eyes softened, and he thanked Dr. Cho. She informed them that they were to join Tony Stark when they settled Peter in, and left the room. 

Steve started fumbling around in search for something, and after a few seconds, let out a little, "ah-ha!" in success. He then pulled out the fluffy blanket Peter claimed for himself, and held it out for the boy.

Said boy's eyes widened as he noticed the offering, and quickly snatched it up before wrapping himself in it, seemingly hiding from the world. 

Within a few moments, after Peter was safely cocooned and out of sight, he was once again out like a light. Bucky gave a little chuckle, and turned to Steve, "Like magic, eh, Stevie?"

The man smiled a soft and sad smile, and gave a small chuckle of his own. "Like magic, Buck."

_______________________________________________

The two men wandered into Tony's mess of a lab, puzzling their way through haphazardly strewn materials and possible explosives. They find said man having a conversation with Bruce, and not a good one, going by the grim set line that was Tony's mouth. Off to the side are Barton and Romanov, the former inspecting new arrows he had received to replace those that were probably still impaled in enemy targets he shot from the Hydra compound this morning, and the latter casually leaning against a table, face completely blank.

Steve awkwardly cleared his throat, and Tony instantly turned his head towards the noise, voice cut off. He gave a quick smile and dramatic wave before once again adopting a grim demeanor. "Alright, so from the info Nat and Katniss here managed to pull from the Hydra database, my own digging, and the DNA test, we can conclude several things- none of them good."

Tony looked up to gauge everyone's faces, as if searching for some way out of saying what he was about to say; for someone to tell him he was wrong, this wasn't their lives, just some elaborate joke. Obviously not finding what he hoped for, he sighed and rubbed his face tiredly before continuing, "We have one Peter, age nine, found in a secret Hydra facility he claimed was his home. The blood analysis Helen got for us revealed that he-" 

Tony cut off when he saw Bruce practically vibrating next to him in excitement, and rolled his eyes, handing the explanation off to the _actual_ geneticist, "Bruce?"

The man in question cleared his throat to compose himself, a slight blush of embarrassment on his cheeks. "Yes, well, it would seem that Peter's DNA has some abnormal structuring. In fact, his protein structuring includes that of a completely foreign species, which, has miraculously, merged perfectly with his DNA."

"Wait, foreign species?" Clint asked.

"Yes, it seems to be some sort of spider, though I have been unable to determine the breed, or if it could be the DNA of several different kinds."

Clint started muttering something about 'Spider-Boy''s and 'big smashin' boots' before Steve spoke up. "But...what could this mean, Doc? What would it do to him?"

However, Tony was the one who replied, "Well, without further testing, we can't be certain what exactly are the effects, but, some of the intel we gathered might be of help with that."

Tony turned towards his holographic display, and brought up some files that were labeled, 'TOP SECRET.' "Alright, so, turns out I was completely right about Peter being Peter Parker- not that I expected any different, and that his parents were Richard and Mary. I found Richard's file on the Hydra database; turns out he was working on some project at Oscorp to replicate some sort of super soldier serum, albeit, in a different way.

Apparently, he was hoping to find a way to 'better' humans and cure disease, and he succeeded, along with the addition of a few more helpful side effects. Hydra recognized the opportunity, and offered the man more funding to start testing it on humans." 

Steve interjected, confused, "Wait, but where does Peter come into this? He was just a baby when this was going on."

"I _was_ getting to that," Tony glared at Steve pointedly, "before you so rudely interrupted me. Anyways, apparently Richard thought that the best test subject for his little serum was his own infant son. He went against Mary's back and dosed him with it."

Steve felt an anger rise within him, but quickly clamped down on it; he was the leader, and he had to keel a level head. He quickly surveyed the other occupants of the room to assess their reactions. Natasha looked just as blank as ever, not that Steve was expecting any different. Clint looked similarly nonchalant to the other super spy, but from years of knowing the man, Steve could detect a small stiffening of the jaw, one probably borne of anger. Having kids of his own, he was obviously appalled that a father would do that to a child, nonetheless their own. Bruce was rubbing his temples and muttering to himself, no doubt remembering his own circumstances with testing a super serum, and Tony had his eyes glued to the screen of a stark pad sitting in his lap. 

Steve finally turned to his friend beside him, but surprisingly, instead of being lost in the horrors he had suffered in Hydra's hands, Bucky donned a determined countenance, ready to hear the rest. He was most likely putting aside his own discomforts in favor of helping Peter. Steve softened a little bit a the display, and returned to the resuming conversation.

"Did it work?" Clint piped up.

"Well, obviously, if we have Peter here, alive, and strong enough to knock over _Cap_ ," Tony deadpanned.

"Not all of us were privy to that information, Stark. The kid could've had eight legs for all we knew," Clint gave Tony an evil eye, probably planning some prank as retaliation for making him seem like a fool.

However, before a shouting match could start up, another voice interrupted.

"I'm sure in his own twisted mind, he thought he was helping. I mean, if the serum worked, his baby would essentially be impervious to all illness and common weaknesses. He just either didn't think that the experiment could fail or have side effects, or he disregarded them," Natasha chipped in, slightly startling Steve. The woman had been silent the entire time up until now, but it was obvious she had been paying close attention to what was being said, and had been making her own conclusions based on it.

"I suppose," Tony drawled out before returning to the information. "I mean, it would match with what else we found. Apparently, one day, Richard approached his kindly Hydra benefactors and told them that he wanted out; that he found out some not so nice ideas they had for the serum, and it went against his Boy Scout honor."

"I'm guessing _that_ didn't end well," Steve replied.

"Just dandy! Remember how I was telling you about the tragic plane crash that resulted in the Parker's deaths?" Tony didn't bother waiting for an answer before continuing on, "Apparently, Richard took all his research data with him and destroyed it, and in retaliation, they ended his and his wife's life."

"But wouldn't they want him alive to give up the formula for the serum, since all the research was destroyed?" Steve questioned.

"I'm sure they saw the kid as a fine consolation prize, and took him instead," Clint piped up.

"Leaving a bloodied massacre of his remaining family in the process," Steve finished.

"Will we have to worry about anymore human spiders in the future?" Clint asked.

"I knew Richard when he was alive; he was a genius, and a seemingly good man. However, he was also very secretive with his research until it was finalized, and so I doubt anyone would be able to replicate his work without guidance. Hydra spent years trying and failing," Bruce intoned. 

"So they decided to make do. Train the kid up and use him as their very own weapon of destruction in case the Winter Soldier ever failed. Seeing as it did, and they are also now without a certain spider, they are most likely scrambling to find some sort of leverage," Tony finished.

"So, do you think they'll lie low for the time being and recuperate, since they have lost their trump card?" Steve directed towards Tony.

However, it was Bucky who spoke up, "No. Once Hydra has sunk its fangs into you, it will not let go easily. They will be sending everything they've got to recover their asset."

No one dared question Bucky's answer, knowing how intimate he was with the inner workings of the organization.

Done with his part, Tony turned to Steve, "Well, what are we going to do, Capsicle?"

"We're going to help him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone know how to get rid of notes at the end from previous chapters????

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if I should continue this? Or don't, that's fine too...


End file.
